Another Love Poem

Love, a four-letter word that would have you sick
Love, that one word that would make you stop and think
Hurt, something love can cause
Feelings, sometimes you have them all
Love, everyone needs it
Hate, something everyone pleases
What is it the world truly needs?
For people to argue and start war?
Death, funerals, shall I say more?
The world and the people in it need love
Not for people to say I love you in hopes for a miracle
But for true compassion from your heart
So that everything would be as equal as one
So even if you're happy as you are,
You still know the world needs true love and peace
Love, something that everyone needs

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”